Fairy Tales are for Sissies
by noahmagnem121
Summary: Max is perfectly happy living in LA...that is, until her parents announce they're moving. Before long, she's settling down in a snobby private school surrounded by snobby kids...but some of these kids aren't at all what they seem. Fax.
1. Mom's Big Surprise

Okay, before I get started here, I'll just give you a warning: this is not a fairy tale. And while I admit that some fairy tales are super creepy - what is _with_ all the kidnappings and runaways and murders? - I still stand by my conclusion that fairy tales are for sissies. Because most of them have happy endings. And I can't guarantee that here. So those of you who have been expecting a peaceful, loving little story had better back out now.

Let's go back to the beginning, shall we? Even though my life was about to become more messed up than I could ever imagine, that far in I was having a perfect summer. It was June, in California, and we were having the best weather anyone had seen in years, even for Los Angeles. I spent my days biking, surfing, or begging rides from my parents so I could go hiking in the mountains. It was an entire month of feeling like Snow White in her enchanted woods with the dwarves - oh, God, I just choked on all that cheese I had to swallow. From now on, I'm going to stop making princess references to keep myself from upchucking. I'll take it for granted that the rest of you are pleased about that.

Where was I? Oh, right: the beautiful countryside, the great weather, the perfect life, yadda yadda yadda. Let's just move on to the story.

The sky was a perfect blue, there were no clouds to be seen anywhere on the horizon, and it was hot-damn-_hot_ outside. The palm trees I walked beneath didn't provide nearly enough shade from the sun's rays, and there wasn't any wind to alleviate at least some of the blistering heat. I cursed myself for not bringing a hat - it was a long walk home, and I still had to pick my dog up from the groomer's.

"Hey, Max!" a voice called from behind me. I turned around and saw a giant black Jeep slowly following me down the street, the driver grinning at me from behind the wheel. "Need a ride?"

"Definitely. I'm baking out here!" I said, grinning. While getting into a black car with someone in the middle of LA is normally a really, really bad idea, I would be crazy not to make an exception here. Common sense tells you that if the hottest junior at Lincoln Alternative High School offers you - a mere freshman - a ride home, you get in without complaint. And Sam Leland _definitely_ merited the title of "hottest junior".

I jumped into the passenger seat, buckled my seatbelt, and looked over at Sam. "Thanks a lot. It's hot enough to cook eggs on the sidewalk."

He smiled widely and flicked his hair out of his eyes, Bieber-style. That gesture would have made any other dude look like a tool, but on Sam…I was practically drooling on his leather seats. "Glad I could help. Besides, I'd look pretty stupid driving this thing alone."

I raised my eyebrows. It was still a surprise to me that Sam even went to the bathroom alone; hordes of people followed him wherever he went. This was including his disgusting number of on-again-off-again girlfriends.

"So where to, Miss Ride?" he asked, putting on a fake English accent.

I laughed. "Marcie's Dog Parlor, if you please."

He gave me a weird look. "Is that where you get your hair cut?"

Well, considering the state my hair was in whenever he saw me, I guess I couldn't blame him for thinking that. No point in feeling insulted. "Nah, I'm picking up my dog. He got groomed today."

Sam looked surprised. "Oh, cool. I didn't know you had a dog."

Well, duh. Up until this afternoon I wasn't even aware that he knew my name.

He continued. "What kind is he?"

"A mix, but mostly black Scottie." Then I sighed. "And the biggest handful I've ever had to deal with."

Sam nodded understandingly. "I hear you. I have a golden retriever at home, and he can coerce us into doing anything without even having to talk to us."

I laughed. The irony in what Sam had just said was almost sickening. "Total has no trouble talking to us at all." Literally.

We stopped at the edge of the grooming parlor, a pleasant-looking brick building with a poster of a big-eyed bulldog on the door. I unbuckled my seatbelt and jumped out of the open Jeep. "Thanks a lot for the ride."

He shook his head at me. "This place is even farther from your house. I'll wait until you've got your dog."

Okay, I just don't _do_ all that sappy stuff, but I defy you to not smile dumbly when a hot guy - _two_ years older than you are, thank you _very _much - offers to _wait_ for you while you collect your dog. But still, something told me I should be slightly suspicious. What had happened to all his various hangers-on? "You don't have to."

"Don't worry about it. All three of my sisters came home yesterday, and I'm trying to delay going back to my house as long as possible."

"Well, if you feel so inclined," I told him, trying to hide my smile, and went inside.

The interior of the groomer's was as nice-looking as the outside. I came up to the front desk, and the perky blond lady standing there smiled at me. "Hi, there."

"Hey. I'm here to pick up my dog. He had an appointment at three."

She nodded, making a mark on a clipboard. "Name, please?"

"Total."

The lady smiled patiently. "I meant your name, sweetie."

"Oh," I said, slightly embarrassed. "Max Ride."

She looked for my name on her clipboard, then frowned. "We don't seem to have a Max Ride on here."

"It's probably under my mom's name. Valencia Martinez?"

She checked again, then nodded. "Okay. Just wait here; he'll be out in a moment."

About a minute later, my tiny black dog barreled through the hall doors and practically flew into my arms. Before I could stop him, he'd slobbered all over my face, tail wagging frenetically.

"Ugh," I said, holding him at arm's length. "How many times do I have to tell you not to do that?"

Total barked and grinned up at me goofily. He looked a lot cleaner than he had before we dropped him off, but Lord knew that wouldn't last. I don't even know why my parents had bothered getting him groomed, considering he'd mess himself up by evening. That dog couldn't go two feet without falling into a mud puddle.

I clipped on his leash and took him outside, to where Sam was waiting. I climbed in, putting Total between us, so he wouldn't fall out.

"This him?" Sam asked, smiling. I resisted the urge to say, _Well, duh._

"Yep. Sam, meet Total. Total, meet Sam."

"Aw." Sam reached out to scratch him behind the ears. "He's really cute."

"I know, right?" Total said.

Sam did a double take, mouth gaping. "Did…did he just talk?"

I laughed, like it was all a big joke. "Definitely not. That was someone in the car next to us."

He looked at the convertible to his left, which seemed to have more chattering girls inside than the car could hold. But hey, this was LA. Everybody wants to feel like they're in a music video.

"Oh, duh. I need to get my ears checked," he said, shaking his head. "Where do I drop you off?"

"Um, 105 Palm Road," I told him. "So, where's Lissa today?"

The guarded expression on his face told me immediately I'd asked the wrong question. Lissa Brown was the most consistent of his girlfriends, but no one had seen them out together as of late. Jesus, I sounded like I was talking about Brad and Angelina.

But anyway. Lissa. Pretty, I had to admit, but she wasn't my favourite person. And by that I mean she acted like a bee with an itch.

He shrugged one shoulder. "Okay, don't repeat this, but we haven't really been getting along lately. She says I'm not enough fun, and she's just not…real."

I nodded understandingly, but I really had no idea what he was talking about.

"She's too obsessed with being popular. It's a lot nicer to hang out with someone who doesn't care what other people think." Here he sent a smile over at me. I wasn't sure if I should be pleased or insulted, but he seemed to think it was a compliment.

"Okay, here we are," he said, pulling to a stop outside my house. I could see him taking it in: the white stucco, orange-shingled roof, and round windows. It was probably small compared to what he was used to, but I loved my house. And then - oh my God, the _best_ part - the divine aroma of fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies wafted out. I had to restrain myself from sprinting into the house and inhaling them like oxygen.

"Thanks a lot for the ride," I told him, smiling warmly. Total jumped onto his lap and licked his face. Sam was a lot more tolerant of him than I was.

"My pleasure." He returned my smile, brushing a stray leaf off my shoulder. His hand was dangerously close to my face. My heart pounded in my chest. "Say hi to Ella for me."

"I will."

"Talk to you tomorrow?" he asked as I slid out of the Jeep.

"Definitely." Whoa. Observe and envy my sweet skills with dudes!

He grinned at me, then gunned the engine. He was gone in three seconds, leaving me staring blankly at his license plate.

Total looked up at me. "He seems nice. I commend your good judgment."

I nodded. "I'm glad I have your seal of approval."

For those of you thinking _Holy freaking crap, that dog is talking to you! _don't worry, that's normal. In fact, most of the time we have trouble getting him to shut up.

See, my dad's an experimental biologist. As near as I can figure, that means he tries to do weird things to animals, although he assure me he's never done any of his experiments on humans. Total was a project that he and his scientist buddies worked on for months, and they all consider him to be their greatest success. Since he wasn't much use at the lab after their experiments were over - and he annoyed the heck out of all the scientists with his incessant blabbering - they let my dad keep him. There were times when I wasn't sure if I should be grateful to them or not.

Total ran to the door and looked pointedly at me. "Well, hurry up and let me in. It's hot out here."

Unfortunately, it wasn't much cooler inside. My parents seemed to have been experimenting on the air conditioner, because it was almost too muggy to breathe. My little sister, Ella, was flopped on the couch, fanning herself with a _Bed Bath and Beyond _flyer.

"Hey," I said, flopping next to her. The TV was turned to a rerun of _The Bachelorette. _Ugh.

"Hi," she replied, waving lazily. "I swear to God, if it gets any hotter I'm going to melt."

"I hitched a ride home with Sam Leland," I told her. "He said to say hi."

That perked her up instantly. "He did? He knows my name? Oh my God, was he driving that really huge Jeep?"

Ella, like every other eighth-grader at her school, knew every intimate detail of Sam's life. I could tell she was getting ready to whip out her cell phone and inform every single one of her classmates of this new development.

I was about to tell her that obsessions were unhealthy when another voice came from the kitchen. "What do you mean, you _hitched a ride?_"

It was my mom, poking her head out of the kitchen to stare at me. I groaned inwardly. Sure, my mom was awesome, but there are just some things you don't tell parents. "I was walking home from J.J.'s, and he offered me a ride home. No big deal."

She looked a little suspicious, but let it slide. Thank God. "Well, if you say so." She took off her apron and laid it on the back of a chair. "Listen, there's something your father and I have to talk to you about. But seeing as he's late -" Here she huffed, looking annoyed, "it'll have to wait till he gets home."

I frowned. Was it just me, or did that sound incredibly ominous? And I really did not need anything harshing my mellow right now. Ha. I remember the first time I read that expression, and thought it said marshmallow. I love marshmallows. They're like little bites of white kitten.

Anyway.

While we waited for my dad to come home, Ella helped my mom with dinner. Because my cooking skills amounted to that of a rock's - and the last time I tried, I set a dishtowel on fire - I did not.

They were making pizza from scratch, and the only thing I was allowed to participate in was the pounding of the dough - because apparently, I'm very good at punching things. Ella practically made the whole thing herself, because she's such an incredible cook.

It was done within the hour, but for someone who eats as much as I do, it felt like days. By the time my dad _finally_ came home, my stomach was growling loud enough to be heard the next state over.

My dad, Jeb Batchelder, looks nothing like Ella or me. His glasses almost always have a crack in them, and he always looks distracted. Side effect of being a scientist, I guess.

Okay, around this time you're probably getting confused. _My_ last name is Ride, my _mom's_ last name is Martinez, and my _dad's_ last name is Batchelder. Weird, right? Well, there was an accident at the hospital the day I was born - neither of my parents ever told me exactly what happened - and in the aftermath, they couldn't find me. Like all the other lost kids, they put me in foster care. When I was four, I realized I didn't have a last name - or even a full _first _name. So I chose my own, Maximum Ride. And when my parents found me at age six, I didn't feel like changing it.

"Hey, dad!" Ella said cheerily.

"Hey, Jeb." I said, somewhat less cheerily. What can I say, I don't do perky.

"You're home!" Total cheered, barreling into the kitchen. "Time to feed me!"

Jeb sighed and ignored him. We've all gotten pretty good at that over the past few years.

"Hi, Val," he said to my mom. She smiled back as she sprinkled cilantro over the pizza, then set it on the counter to cool off a little.

I don't know why I call my dad Jeb and my mom Mom. It's weird, but I guess I just never got into the habit. Besides, Jeb doesn't seem to care. And _Dad_ doesn't seem to fit him.

Jeb sat down at the table and started to sort through the massive pile of papers stacked there. "Max, would you do me a favour and go get the mail?"

"Do I have to?" I groaned.

He gave me one of his stares.

"Fine, fine." I hauled myself up from the couch and grumbled my way to the front door. I grabbed the pile of letters sticking out of the mailbox and retreated back into the house.

Let's see - bills, bills, two for Mom, one for Jeb, and - that was new. Two official-looking envelopes addressed to both me and Ella. I checked the return address - it was from somewhere in Canada. Why the heck are those crazy Canadians sending letters to me and my little sister?

"Hey, what's this?" I asked Jeb, waving the envelopes around. To my surprise, he paled and cast his eyes towards the ceiling, like he was praying for me to suddenly disappear. This immediately set off little alarm bells inside my head. "What are these, Jeb?"

He ran a hand over his face, let out a deep sigh, and instead of answering turned his head and called into the kitchen, "Ella? Val? Could you come in here, please?"

A few moments later, they both came into the living room, Ella still wearing her oven mitts. My mom looked questioningly at Jeb. "What's going on?"

He hesitated a moment. "I think it's time to tell them."

She stared at him. "I thought we were waiting until the entrance exams came?"

Jeb held up the two envelopes. "They just did."

Mom's eyebrows raised. Then, "All right, then."

She sat down across from us and interlaced her fingers on the kitchen table. Oh, no. The interlacing fingers. That meant bad news. "Max, Ella, for the longest time your father has been working on an experiment. Every time he's tried in LA, there have been no results. So he wants to try it somewhere quieter, with a different climate, somewhere he'll be undisturbed."

I nodded slowly. That made sense, at least. "So what does this have to do with the envelopes? What are they?"

Jeb looked apologetic, as though he knew we weren't going to like his answer. "Those are entrance exams. To Canada Founders Independent School."

_That, _on the other hand, made no sense whatsoever. Ella and I exchanged a glance. "Why would we be getting entrance exams from a private school in Canada?"

"Because," my mom said steadily. "We're moving."


	2. California to Canada

**Okay, this is my first Maximum Ride fanfic, so I hope y'all like it. Please, be kind and review!**

**Disclaimer: None of these characters are mine, please don't sue me.**

As you can probably imagine, dinner was pretty unpleasant that night.

And the next one.

And the next one.

In fact, pretty much _every _meal we had as a family was silent and pretty depressing, right up until we left the city a month later. But the car ride out of California was the worst yet.

I know. _The car ride._ Our parents spring the news that we're going to be moving and then don't even bother to let us ride out of state in style. We have to sit in our minivan for something like three days before we get to our new home.

And I've saved the best for last. Just _guess_ where we're going to be moving?

_Winnipeg._

Really, Jeb, really? I mean, I might be a little more inclined to forgive you if you said we were moving to, like, Paris or something.

But _Winnipeg?_ A small, flat city in the center of the continent, nowhere near to any significant body of water? Half the people back in SoCal don't even know where that is! And the only reason that _I_ know it's flat, landlocked and cold is because of the Internet. Thank God for Wikipedia.

At least I had plenty of time to say goodbye to everyone. J.J., Annie…even Lissa came to offer her condolences when she heard I was moving halfway across the continent. And Sam…

About a week after my parents dropped their bomb, I met Sam while I was walking Total through the park. I was slightly pleased to note that he looked a little upset. Does that make me a terrible person? "Lissa's friends are all saying that you're moving. Is it true?"

I nodded miserably. "All the way to Winnipeg. Ella's been crying for days."

"Wow. I'd be crying too if I had to leave LA for Canada." He sighed. "I'm really sorry."

"Me too."

We stood in silence for a moment. Then he took a pen out of his pocket, grabbed my hand and scribbled something across my palm. "This is my Skype address. Ring me as soon as you've settled in."

I pulled my arm back. His Skype name was apparently _hotdamnitssam__. _

I smiled, actually smiled, for the first time in a week. "Thanks. I won't forget."

"I hope not." He grinned at me. "Man, I sure am going to miss you."

Then - to my complete and utter shock - he leaned in and planted a kiss on my cheek. I must have stood there for a full five minutes after he left, wondering how to move my feet.

And two weeks later, while I was staring out the car window at the rapidly receding mountains, I was still reliving that moment. You'd think I'd have better things to do - like mourn the loss of my American citizenship.

Ella, however, seemed to have no problem being miserable. I hadn't been kidding when I told Sam she'd been crying for days. Even now, sitting next to me in the backseat, tears were running silently down her cheeks.

Now, maybe you've noticed, but I'm not very good with emotions. I can't remember the last time I cried, and I also have no recollection of ever trying to comfort someone who _was _crying. Because it's just not my thing. But luckily, I had Total around to help me. Wow, that'll probably be the only time I'll ever say _that_ in my life.

He jumped down from my mom's lap and clambered onto Ella's, reaching up with his tongue to lick her face. "Cheer up, Ells Bells," he told her. "This is a whole new adventure here! And we're going to _Canada._ Lots of cute boys wearing fur hats and hockey skates."

That made Ella smile. "Well, if you put it that way…" And she wiped away her tears, putting on a brave face. That's my little sister.

But when we passed the _Thank you for visiting Los Angeles_ sign, she reached out and took my hand. I squeezed back, trying not to think about my little white house with the SOLD sign on the front lawn.

And California got smaller and smaller behind us until eventually, it disappeared altogether. Now there was nothing but the lonely road ahead of us.

I'm not going to tell you too much about the three-day drive from southern USA to one of the coldest major cities on Earth. All I'm prepared to say is that it was long, boring, and we had to stop every half-hour to let Total out. I think we added something like six hours to our travel time that way.

But eventually, we did get to Winnipeg. Jeb signaled from the front seat when we crossed the perimeter highway. "We're here!"

I took out my earphones to properly survey my new home. It didn't look like much.

Weak September sunlight filtered in through the fluffy gray clouds that dotted the sky. A thin layer of frost covered the front lawns of tall, dark houses half-hidden behind enormous trees. Every building we passed looked like it had grown up out of the ground.

For those of you thinking, _Hey, that doesn't sound so bad!_ I will remind you that I grew up in a sunny, bustling city filled with low houses and all different kinds of people. Through my eyes, Winnipeg looked like the perfect setting for a horror movie.

"There's the Legislative Building," my mom said suddenly. She pointed out the window to an enormous stone building with a green dome roof. And on top of the green dome was a giant golden statue of a naked guy holding a torch and a bunch of wheat. Man, these prairie people sure do love their wheat. Like a mother might love her firstborn child.

"And there's the MTS centre," said Jeb a little while later. The only thing I could see of the place was a giant sign in front that said MTS - whatever that meant - and a poster of a determined-looking dude wearing skates and a helmet. Well, now that I'm going to become a Canadian, I guess I should get used to hockey players.

They continued to point out the city landmarks for about twenty more minutes, until Jeb turned the car down a quiet street and drove past a small park. A few little kids were throwing a baseball back and forth in the field, but Jeb turned the car again before I got a good look at them.

"This is our street," my mom said, sounding excited. I peered outside apprehensively.

Thousands of trees blocked out a lot of the light, but it was easy to see that whoever wanted to live in a house around here had to be filthy stinking rich. The houses were absolutely enormous even by California standards, and they all looked clean and well-kept. We passed one house with a gaggle of high-school-age boys hanging around in the driveway, kicking a hacky sack around. One of them looked curiously at our beat-up van as we drove by.

About five minutes or so later, we came to the end of the winding road. Jeb parked the car outside the second-last house on the right, and looked back at me and Ella. "Girls, this is it!"

Finally! Thank God. I suffer from mild claustrophobia, and seeing the inside of the same car for almost four days straight was unbelievably boring. I almost tripped over Total in my haste to get out and breathe fresh air. He gave me a dirty look. "Canadians are much more polite than that, Maximum."

"Don't care," I told him, leaning against the car door and closing my eyes. The wind felt incredible on my face, even if it was a lot colder than I was used to.

"Whoa," Ella said. "Um, Max?"

"What?" I didn't even bother opening my eyes.

"You should see this."

"The only thing I feel like seeing now is the inside of my eyelids."

I heard Ella sigh, and then something cold and wet that felt suspiciously like a dog tongue slapped across the bottom half of my face. I opened my eyes, spluttering, and saw that I was right: Ella was holding Total up to my eye level, both of them looking impatient.

Then I saw the place that was apparently my new house, and every conceivable thought was wiped from my mind.

The place was _enormous_. You could have fit three of my old houses inside and there would still have been room left over. The entire front wall was glass, and through it I could see gorgeous high ceilings and pale blue walls. There were three stories, the divide between each clearly visible through the thirty-by-twenty foot window.

And right along the side of the gigantic, stretching from the roof to the ground, was a giant green creeper plant, its shoots as thick around as my whole body. That would be excellent for sneaking out.

I whirled around to stare at my parents. "_This_ is our new house?"

Mom looked pleased at my reaction. "As it turns out, houses in Manitoba are a lot cheaper than houses in California. We were able to buy this place and still have money left in our budget to burn."

"Jesus," I said.

"That seems an accurate assessment," Total told me. He couldn't take his eyes off our new house either.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Ella said, already running towards the front door. "I want to see what the inside of this palace looks like!"

I have to admit, so did I. I followed my little sister through the light wood double doors, leaving my parents in the dust.

If it was even possible, the inside of the house was even more breathtaking than the inside. The walls were all bare, but they'd be covered in paintings and sketches pretty soon - as well as being an excellent cook, Ella was also an artist. The kitchen was open and bright, with dark granite countertops and a silver fridge that was taller than I was - and I'm pretty darn tall. Two hallways branched out on either side of the white-carpeted living room, but all I could see of those were a bunch of closed doors with silver handles.

"Where are our rooms?" Ella demanded of our mom, who had just come in and was now staring around our new house, looking very impressed.

"The two of you are sharing the third floor. In separate rooms, of course," she added quickly. We tried sharing a room when I was ten and she was eight. We managed to avoid bloodshed, but there were some pretty close shaves. "And both rooms have ensuite bathrooms, so you can spend as much time in the bathroom as you want."

Ella looked delighted, and darted up the stairs to see her new bedroom. I shrugged my shoulders and followed her. Truthfully, I don't spend a lot of time on my appearance. Makeup's just too much to bother with, and I gave up on my hair about six years ago.

We passed the second floor on our way up to the third. A cozy-looking window seat spanned one wall, but the floor was bare.

"Down that hallway is a bathroom, a workout room, a sunroom and our bedroom," Mom told us. "But most of our furniture isn't in Canada yet, so there's not too much to see here."

The top floor was pretty simple from where we stood: a narrow hallway with two doors on either side. Mom went on ahead.

"This is your room, Ella," she said, gesturing to the door on the right. "And Max, you're on the left." She stepped back to let us pass and Ella practically ran her over in her rush to get to the door on the left.

I opened the door to my new room, and my jaw dropped. But I quickly shut it again so I wouldn't let on how impressed I was.

Like the rest of the house, one wall was made entirely of glass, with gauzy curtains covering the whole enormous window. So far it was pretty sparse, but I was happy to see that my bed, the one I'd slept in back in California, lay in the centre. The doors to a bathroom and a walk-in closet stood ajar along the other wall.

And a small balcony outside that led to the same wall with the thick vine on it. That meant I could sneak out whenever I wanted. _Excellent. _

"So, what do you think?" my mom asked, a rather smug smile on her face.

"Um, it's all right," I said, shrugging and desperately trying to seem nonchalant. But it wasn't working, and my mom knew it.

"_Oh my God!"_

I started when a piercing shriek came from the room across the hall. A second later, Ella had barged through the door and wrapped her arms tightly around Mom. "This is incredible!" she said. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Mom hugged her back, smiling broadly. I'm not good with those things that other people call emotions, but it was obvious that it was painful for Mom to see Ella so upset. It was good to see her so happy so far from home.

"Well, when you've finished," I said, sweeping them out of the room. "I'd quite like to settle in."

"Okay, we'll get out of your way," Mom said, and the two of them left. I shut the door behind them, then flopped down on my bed and put my iPod in. As I looked down at my impossible high ceiling, I thought that maybe - although I would never, _ever_ tell my parents this - that I could get used to living in Winnipeg.

"What the hell is _that?_"

Mom stood in my doorway, holding up something that closely resembled what a nun might wear to bed. And believe me, that is not a compliment.

"It's your new school uniform," my mom said. She didn't look much happier than I felt. "Ugh."

I nodded in agreement. "Ella's going to have a fit." And indeed, if I listened hard, I could just hear the shout of disgust from across the hall.

School started tomorrow. Mom had been in a frenzy for the past two weeks, trying to pick up everything we'd need for our classes. Ella had helped, but I really couldn't have cared less, and it showed.

"Look, I know it's hideous -" I will remind you again of how much I love my mother - "but it was incredibly expensive, and you have to wear them. At least everyone else will be wearing the same ugly clothes. Please try them on."

I gave her a you-have-got-to-be-kidding-me-look. "I'm not wearing those a second longer than I absolutely have to."

"That's too bad," she said loftily. "Because I was thinking of testing out our new oven this afternoon and making some chocolate chip cookies, but only for those of my children in uniform…"

Dang, she knew how to convince me. I couldn't say no to cookies.

Scowling, I grabbed the stupid uniform off the hanger and closed the door so I could change. Five minutes later, I was staring at my reflection in the mirror in horror.

The only thing that could possibly make the white oxford shirt look any geekier was a pocket protector - not that I'd ever be caught dead wearing those. The plaid skirt fell an uncomfortably long length to my knees, and as I gazed into the mirror, I could almost feel myself turning into a nerd with no social life. I mean, so far, in Canada, I _didn't_ have a social life, but there was no need to confirm it for people.

I opened the door mournfully to show my mom the damage, but found Ella instead. She grimaced at my sordid appearance. "God, Max, you look like a dork."

"Tell me something I don't know." Then I noticed she'd managed to escape the wrath of the ugly uniform. "Hey, why aren't you wearing your monkey suit?"

"I already tried mine on," she said. "But it didn't look half as awful as yours does."

I snorted. "I find that hard to believe."

"No, really," she said earnestly. "You just have to modify it a bit."

She steered me back in front of the mirror, and put her hands to my collarbone, undoing the top button. Then she gestured to the horrid skirt. "Roll that up about six inches."

"Huh?"

Ella made a twisting motion with her hands. "Roll it. Like so." She took the top of my kilt and folded it over several times. When she was done, it hung at a much better height, way above my knees. Lastly, she turned my socks over several times so they sat at mid-calf, then stepped away. "Just wear your regular sneakers with that, and it'll look fine."

I gaped when I caught sight of my reflection again. I had undergone the transformation from geek to Britney-Spears-schoolgirl-lookalike in under twenty seconds. Yes, my sister is truly an artist.

The next morning, I woke up to butterflies in my stomach. Surprising, considering I don't scare easy. But by seven fifteen, when I still hadn't managed to get back to sleep, I gave up and dragged myself out of bed.

My mom had made chocolate-chip pancakes in honour of our first day at a new school. I loved these almost as much as I loved her cookies - my obsession with chocolate was something I'd long ago stopped trying to control.

"Morning, sweetie," my mom said, handing me a plate with six of the delicious cakes on it. I put my face to the table and started to wolf them down.

"Where's Jeb?" I asked through a mouthful of pancake.

"In his new office." She pointed down one of the side hallways. "Setting things up."

"Cool. Okay, thanks!" I finished my food, handed the plate back to my mom, and rocketed back up the stairs to the third floor. Ella's door was closed; I could only assume she was still trying to get in as much sleep as possible. I had a feeling that we'd need to be well rested for the day ahead.

I threw on my ghastly - ghastly. Isn't that a great word? I learned it from Harry Potter - uniform, and tried to remember what Ella had done to make it less repulsive. Unfortunately, my attempts ended in extreme frustration, and by the time I'd gathered the sense to call Ella in -

"Wow, Max. That rip in your skirt actually looks good there."

And lucky for me, she was right.

And so, twenty minutes later, we'd gathered our backpacks and headed out the door. We could walk to our new school from home, which was nice, I guess. It meant we wouldn't have to ride the "shudder" bus.

I noticed, when we rounded the corner of Jay Grove - our new street - that Ella looked a little freaked. "Nervous?"

She nodded, biting her lip.

Jesus. More emotions.

"Trust me, Ells, you haven't got a thing to be worried about," I said, as soothingly as I could. "All those middle-schoolers are gonna love you."

I wasn't lying to make her feel better, either. Ella was an incredibly sweet, good-natured kid, and super pretty. But she's got a fiery steel at her core, a don't-you-dare-mess-with-me side to her that attracts people. I, on the other hand, have no softer turn to my personality. It's my way or the highway. And I have a feeling most of the sophomores - sorry, Grade Tens, now that I'm Canadian - aren't going to be too impressed with that. Well, too bad for them.

"If you say so," she said, smiling in an almost-excited kind of way. "Hopefully there'll be tons of cute Canadian guys to flirt with."

"Are you kidding? American guys are way hotter," I said, thinking of Sam.

"Yeah, but Canadians have accents."

I stared at her. "You think it's hot when boys say "eh"?"

Neither of us could stop laughing until we turned the other corner. Then we stopped in our tracks.

Another enormous building - why were there so many in this freaking town? - loomed ahead of us. Thousands of windows dotted its walls, and at least a mile of flagstones led to the front door. Three flags - Canada's, Manitoba's, and the school crest - flapped lazily in the breeze. So this was Canada Founder's Independent School.

A tall, dark-haired lady in low black heels approached us as we mounted the front steps. Her smile was friendly, but looks could be deceiving with teachers. "Hi, there. What are your names?" She took a pen and clipboard out of nowhere, then looked up at us expectantly.

Ella and I exchanged a glance.

"Um, I'm Max Ride," I told her warily.

"And I'm Ella Martinez."

The woman nodded vigorously. "Oh, yes, that's right. The California transfers. We're all very excited to have you here. Okay, Miss Martinez, you'll go in through the Middle School entrance right here, and Miss Ride, the Upper School lobby are through those doors over there."

The very annoying lady gestured impatiently to two different sets of doors and blinked at us.

I looked at Ella. "Well, have a good day."

She nodded. "You too. Meet you here at the end of the day?"

"Sure."

With one last hyped-up smile, Ella turned to the Middle School doors and went inside. Once she was gone, the lady ushered me down the steps, then went to terrorize other unsuspecting people.

I walked over to the Upper School entrance. Never before had a set of double doors looked so frightening, but I was Maximum Ride. And these high-school brats didn't stand a chance against me.

With one last nervous swallow, I wrapped my arms around the handles and pushed the doors open.


	3. Crazy Canadian Kids

**Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed! I promise that Chapter 3 will be up as soon as it's written. It's the week before school starts; I have nothing else to do but write, so expect it soon!**

**And for everybody who lives in Winnipeg, I'm sorry for ripping on your city. I just needed a place that was good and Canadian. **

The first thing that hit me was the noise. As the sounds of hundreds of squealing girls, grunting boys and shouting teachers assailed my ears, I felt the overwhelming desire to turn tail and run screaming from the hallway.

But I managed to suppress the urge. Taking a deep breath, I assumed a semi-confident expression and stepped forward into the sea of students.

I tried not to look at the faces of any of the kids as I strode down the corridor, but it was hard. Most of them stopped talking as I passed by and stared at me with curious eyes. The girls whispered and giggled to each other, and the dudes looked me up and down with small smirks on their faces. One of them winked at me as I walked by on my way to the office.

Ew. Gross. It seemed that boys were the same in every country. Why was I so surprised?

Eventually I found my way to the high school office, after climbing up and down about five different sets of stairs and almost getting lost twice that many times. Another high-heeled lady finally saw how far out to sea I was, and took pity on me. Thankfully, she wasn't holding a clipboard.

"You look a little confused there," she told me. "Need any help?"

I was a little wary about these Canadian schoolteachers, seeing as the last one I'd met had been only a few inches short of psychotic. But this one looked okay. "Yeah, I'm looking for the office."

"Oh, you must be new. No worries, it's just down here." She led me to a door at the end of the hallway, with a small desk and a computer inside. Different coloured paper mache masks were scattered on the walls, each in the shape of a different animal face. Kinda creepy.

"So, you're the only new Grade Ten this year, which means you must be Max Ride," she said, looking at me for confirmation. When I nodded, she handed me a slip of paper. It was my new schedule.

"It looks like you've got Social Studies with Mrs. Ardeth first period. She's in room two-twenty - that's upstairs and immediately to the left." She observed me kindly from over her computer. "I know this is your first day, so you're probably feeling pretty overwhelmed. If you've got any questions, feel free to ask. I'm here all day."

I smiled back at her. She was friendly, and not crazy - that was a first around here. "I'm fine. But thanks."

"Okay, then. I hope you have a good first day!" The lady - I realized when I saw the nameplate on the door that her name was Ms Ladd - smiled brightly, then went back to her work. I left the office and followed her instructions to get to my first class, but halfway up the stairs a piercing noise filled my ears - easily recognizable as the bell. I swore loudly. That probably meant I was late for my first class.

I hurried the rest of the way to Mrs. Ardeth's room, my skirt swishing dangerously high. I was glad there was no one else in the hall to see me, because I probably would have flashed them by accident. Did private school girls have to worry about all the time? Just one more reason to be _so glad_ I'd moved to a new school.

I skidded to a stop in front of the first door on the left, then raised my hand and knocked. The door was opened almost immediately by a regal-looking woman in a flowing white dress. I blinked. She looked like she belonged somewhere in Ancient Greece. Maybe she was participating in a reenactment?

"Oh, hello there." Her voice was lyrical, like she was singing to me instead of just talking. "Can I help you?"

"Um, Ms Ladd told me I was supposed to be in your class," I told her. "I'm -"

"Max Ride," she finished. "Yes, I've been expecting you. Come in." She stood aside to let me through the door, then shut it behind me and turned to face the rest of the class.

"Everybody, this is Max Ride," she announced to her students. "She transferred here from…California, I believe?"

Had someone sent around a report containing my entire life story? I nodded. "Los Angeles."

She nodded, then considered me. "Is Max your full name, or is it short for something? Maxine, perhaps?"

I let out a short laugh. "God, no. That name is horrible."

The class all snickered. I couldn't imagine what they could possibly be laughing about, until my eyes fell on the name written on the whiteboard - _Mrs. Maxine Ardeth. _

Bloody hell.

"All right, then, everybody take their seats." Mrs. Ardeth ordered. "And please take our your textbooks."

Face burning, I slunk to an open seat in the back row. I let my eyes travel over the faces of my new classmates on the way.

Most of them were laughing at me - well, no surprise there. The girls all had limp, flat-ironed hair and loads of makeup on. They gave me disdainful glances as I made my way to my seat, as if thinking I wasn't nearly pretty enough to hang around.

The boys, on the other hand, were all staring at me. Well, maybe _staring_ isn't the right word. _Leering_ might work, though. Their lecherous eyes passed up and down my body, even though there wasn't much to see under the uniform. But one boy didn't sneer or wink or grin at his friends - in fact, he smiled quite pleasantly as I passed him. He was tall with huge shoulders, honey blonde hair, and bright, deep turquoise eyes like a Caribbean sea.

Hot friggin damn.

Unfortunately, I had to tear my eyes away or I would've walked headlong into a wall. As it was, I couldn't stop staring until the edge of my hip hit someone's desk, and the sniggers got louder. It looked like my chance at a first impression had gone the same way as Miley Cyrus' career.

The boy sitting behind the desk I'd walked into calmly reached out a hand to stop it wobbling. He was pretty unusual-looking, especially for someone like me who'd grown up surrounded by tanned surfer boys. This kid was past six feet, with olive skin and tousled black hair. Deep black eyes appraised me for a moment, then he smirked and directed his attention back to the front of the room. As if I wasn't worth looking at.

Anger rose in the back of my throat like bile, but I kept my temper in check and sank into the only open seat in the room. I was so busy taking deep breaths that I didn't immediately notice that someone was tapping my shoulder.

It was the girl sitting in the seat next to me. She was almost as tall as I was, which was saying something - I was closing in on six feet. She had the kind of hair I'd kill for, wildly curly and a deep brownish-black colour. Her smile was enthusiastic, like each minutes was an adventure she couldn't wait to experience.

"Hi," she whispered, so Mrs. Ardeth couldn't hear her. "You're Max, right? I know you don't like the name Maxine, but is it short for anything? That's an awesome name, I wish I'd been named something cool like that. Instead I got Monique, but hardly anyone calls me that. You can just call me Nudge."

I blinked incomprehensively at her. She'd lost me after "hi".

The girl seemed to realize how confused I was. "Oh, sorry. A lot of people say that I talk too much. I'll go slower." She took a deep breath. "My name is Nudge. Is your real name Max, or is that just a nickname?"

I smiled at her. She was the first friendly kid I'd met so far. "It's short for Maximum, but I like Max better. And I don't think you talk too much."

Nudge beamed at me. "Thanks! It's so cool that someone halfway nice has _finally _come to this school. Most of the girls here won't talk to me because they think I'm so weird."

Yet more fury washed over me, this time mixed with sympathy. I'd only known her for about thirty seconds, but there was something about Nudge that made me want to protect her. Like the second little sister I'd never had. "Well, I don't think there's anything wrong with you at all," I told her firmly.

Looking back, it probably wasn't the politest thing to say, but Nudge didn't seem to notice. A wide smile split her face. "I'm so glad to finally have a _friend_ in my grade. This class is awful; everybody's always too busy fawning over Fang to actually _do_ anything."

I cocked my head to one side, like Total does when someone blows a dog whistle. "Who's Fang?"

She pointed down the row of seats, to the black-haired boy whose desk I'd bumped into.

"Fang Alexandros."

Now that Nudge had mentioned it, I could see that almost everyone's eyes were trained on him, even though he wasn't doing anything more interesting than writing notes. The class was watching this kid - Fang, I guess. God, the names Canadians think up for their kids - exactly the way the sophomores back in California used to watch Lissa.

Well, there was no doubt where Fang stood in the high-school hierarchy - right at the very freaking top with the other airhead popular jerks. I've had bad experiences with those kids in the past - or rather, they've had bad experiences with me. Lots of bloody noses, several sprained fingers, and one broken arm - I did feel bad about that. But just in case, I resolved to stay as far away from Fang Alexandros as possible.

The next hour was the most fun I'd had since moving to Winnipeg. I spent the entire class laughing in the back row while Nudge educated me on CFI's social pyramid. She said it was the most important lesson I could learn, and I believed her. These teens were vicious - one public misstep and they might just bite my head off.

According to her, Fang was steadily dating a girl named Maya Johnson - and she was Number One on my new list of People to Avoid. Nudge didn't tell me too much about her, other than that she was the biggest bi'atch in the Western hemisphere and that I should try not to look her in the eyes.

Another person Nudge pointed out to me in our class was a tall, skinny boy with albino-pale skin and white hair. His eyes were a very bright blue, but they stared blankly into the distance like he couldn't process what he was seeing.

"That's Iggy," she whispered. "He excels in blowing stuff up, even though he's blind."

I felt a stab of sympathy. It wasn't that he couldn't understand what he saw, it was that he couldn't see at all. Poor kid.

"He and Fang are adopted brothers, and they're in every class together so Fang can help him out," she confided. "But I think Iggy would be fine on his own. He's got an insane ability to like, _sense_ things instead of _see _them."

I looked down the row of seats at the two boys. They couldn't have looked more opposite, but you could almost feel the fierce loyalty between them, and it was easy to tell that they were closer even than real brothers. I wouldn't have thought it was possible for Fang, but there it was.

Or maybe I was completely wrong and just misreading things. Lord knows it wouldn't be the first time.

When the bell rang, Nudge hauled me up out of my seat and dragged me out the door. "There's someone I want you to meet," she said excitedly. "I think you'll really like him!"

"Him?" I asked warily, but she ignored my question and towed me right over to where the gorgeous blonde kid stood, reading something out of his textbook. I dug in my heels.

"Oh, God, Nudge, no," I hissed. I did not feel up to meeting someone as hot as he was right after I'd succeeded in making a fool of myself in front of him.

"Oh, don't worry, you'll be fine." Hooking her arm through mine so I couldn't run away - as I had fully been planning to do - she strode right up to the boy and tapped his shoulder.

He looked up, and those sparkling eyes locked immediately on mine. I took several deep breaths to keep myself from hyperventilating.

"Dylan, this is Max," she introduced. "Max, meet Dylan."

Dylan grinned and shut his textbook. "And a good morning to you too, Monique." Then he directed his blindingly white smile towards me. "Has she been talking your ear off the whole time?" He shook his blonde head. "Come on, Nudge. She's new. Give her a break."

"Ha ha," said Nudge, without laughing. "Once you get past the bad jokes, Dylan's pretty much the only decent guy in our grade."

I don't know about the rest of you, but I could look past the bad jokes pretty easily.

"So how're you liking CFI so far?" Dylan asked me as the three of us walked to our next class (Science).

"It's pretty cool, I guess," I told him, thankful my voice didn't falter. "This place is a _lot_ bigger than the school I went to back in LA."

Dylan snapped his fingers. "That's right, I forgot! You're our resident California girl." His expression was curious. "I've never been. What's it like there?"

"Hot," I said truthfully. "And sunny. Lots of beaches."

"Is it true that every girl wears bikinis and short shorts?"

His megawatt smile was mischievous. He was totally making fun of me.

"Is your entire perception of California based off a Katy Perry song?" I asked.

"Pretty much."

Wow. Sarcasm! I'd found a kindred spirit.

They walked on either side of me all the way down to the Science lab, where a sour-looking dude was writing notes on the whiteboard. I guess if I had to teach high-school Science, I'd be bitter too.

I made to put my books in the front row, but Nudge caught my arm. "Trust me, you do _not _want to sit there."

"Why not?"

"Because Mr. Carter spits when he talks. Anyone sitting within a ten-foot radius gets drenched."

"Okay, that's a good enough reason for me," I said, and moved my books to the back.

The following lesson was so mind-numbingly boring I could almost feel myself slipping into a coma. Every time Nudge, Dylan or I tried to talk, he hissed at us violently enough for his little spit-bombs to reach us even in the back of the classroom. It was in this way that Mr. Carter the Science teacher became Number Two on my list of People to Avoid.

Finally, though, the bell rang and the heinous troll was forced to let us leave. Nudge pulled out her schedule as we tripped over each other, eager to get out of the hellhole of Science. "Awesome! We have Gym next."

Ah, how well I remembered PE in California. Most of the time we'd play baseball on the school fields, or go running on the beach. But I figured things would be different here. Baseball was an American sport, and we'd have to go a _long_ way if we wanted to do a beach run.

"Did you get a gym uniform?" Nudge asked.

I stared blankly at her. "You guys have uniforms for PhysEd?"

"I'll take that as a no. Don't worry, I have extra shorts and stuff. You can just wear your regular runners."

I was suddenly struck by how nice she was being. What had I done to deserve that? I was genuinely curious, because I can't remember ever being that nice to someone. "Hey, thanks, Nudge."

"Like I said, don't worry about it. It's cool having someone here besides Dylan who'll talk to me."

"The teachers won't even call on her in class anymore," Dylan confided. "They're afraid she'll start talking and won't ever stop."

I stifled my laugh. Nudge didn't look offended, just punched Dylan's arm like she was used to hearing stuff like that from him.

Since apparently everyone in the grade had PE at the same time, the three of us walked down to the gym surrounded by hordes of sophomores. I was swept away from my companions by the crowd, and by the force of some cosmic screw-up, came out right next to an abnormally tall boy with black hair and broad shoulders. Fang Alexandros. Just my freaking luck.

He might not have noticed me, if I hadn't been my totally awkward self and walked right into him - again. His cool black eyes immediately flicked up to mine - God, those eyes were creepy. No matter how intently I stared into them, I couldn't find any trace of emotion. Or, in fact, either of his pupils.

Not like I was making a habit of staring at him or anything. Just, you know, speaking metaphorically.

I was fully expecting him to look away and keep walking, but instead he surprised the crap out of me by actually _speaking_. "Max, right?"

I was too stunned to reply for a second. "That's me. And you're Fang."

His eyes narrowed slightly. "Your blonde friend's already told you about me, I see."

I frowned back at him. "Have you really never bothered to learn Dylan's name, or are you just being a jerk?"

Okay, I know that sounded harsh, but this dude was really getting on my nerves. And, if his irritated expression was any indication, I was annoying him too. What can I say? It's a talent of mine, one that I put to use quite regularly.

"Hey, Max, we were wondering where you'd got to - oh, hey, Fang," Dylan said, coming up behind me. "Didn't realize you two hadn't met yet."

Fang only nodded, staring him evenly in the eye. Dylan stared back, one hand resting on my arm like he was daring Fang to try and remove it. It looked like this was going to turn into a good-old-fashioned standoff.

I huffed out a breath. Males and their stupid pride battles.

I shrugged Dylan's arm off. "Not that it isn't fun watching the two of you stare at each other, but you're kind of holding up traffic."

It was true. The two of them had stopped walking with half the grade still trapped behind us, some of whom had started to complain about our lack of movement. Fang gave Dylan one last glare, then kept moving down the hall, his posse trailing in his wake.

"That was weird," Nudge commented. She'd come to stand beside me while I was busy staring at Fang's retreating back. "Fang hardly ever pays attention to anyone but Iggy and Maia." She fixed me with a curious look. "Did he say anything to you?"

I considered telling her that he'd actually spoken to me, gone to the trouble to learn my name, and apparently _really_ didn't like Dylan. But in the end I decided it wasn't worth the trouble.

"No," I told her. "Nothing at all."


	4. Fast Enemies

**Okay, because I've had some people screaming for my blood about all the Mylan they're seeing, I'll clarify: this IS a Fax fanfiction, and there is some Fax coming up…because I hate the idea of Mylan as much as the next fangirl. **

**Hahaha I just realized! Fangirl looks like **_**Fang**_**irl. That is seriously mind-blowing.**

Nudge and I left Dylan at the entrance to the gym, when the hallways separated into the girl's and boy's changing rooms. He'd been pretty quiet the rest of the way down the corridor, and I detected the faintest trace of hurt coming off of him. But I found it very difficult to summon any sympathy for him. His hand on my arm had been a touch too possessive for my liking, and me and possessiveness just don't mix. I wondered vaguely what had gone on between Fang and Dylan to make them hate each other so much.

"Okay, hold your nose in three…two…one!" Nudge said, clamping a hand over the lower half of her face as she opened the door to the girl's change room. I was not as wise as she, and the smell hit me like a volleyball in the mouth.

"Oh my God, that's disgusting," I moaned.

"The boy's change room is worse." Nudge's voice was hard to hear through her fingers.

I slid her a look sideways. "Something tells me that I do not want to know how you know that."

She grinned slyly. Yep, I definitely didn't want to know.

All the other girls had come ahead of us, so we had the changing room to ourselves. The CFI gym uniform was considerably nicer than its regular one - just a pair of black shorts and a white T-shirt emblazoned with the school crest.

"Thanks for letting me borrow your stuff," I told her, pulling on the shorts.

She looked me up and down a little worriedly. "Don't thank me just yet. I think you might be a couple sizes too big for that shirt."

I shoved my head through the neck hole and realized immediately that she was right. Though both of us were roughly the same height, I was a lot more filled out than she was, and a lot heavier. I clutched my chest and pretended to gag. "Can't…breathe…"

"Sorry," Nudge grimaced. "But I don't think there's anything else to wear. Well, maybe there's something in the Lost and Found."

Ugh. Rooting through a bunch of old clothes so that I can wear a random person's sweaty gym stuff? Someone who, for all I know, might have a fatal disease passed through skin contact? No thank you. "I'm just joking. This'll be fine. Crop tops are really in this season."

She laughed, even though I wasn't totally joking.

"All the gym classes for September are held outside," Nudge explained to me. "So we can take advantage of the warm weather."

She opened the door of the gym and a wave of frigid air blew over us, chilling me to the bone. "You crazy Canadians call this _warm?_"

Nudge gave me a strange look. "Well, yeah. For Winnipeg."

Of course. Because warm in Winnipeg is cold in the rest of the world. And sad is happy. And ugly is probably pretty too. Because Canada is a strange, strange place.

Okay. I need to stop with all the _Canadians are crazy _jokes. From now on, just take it for granted that they're all insane.

The rest of the grade was milling around in the giant field in front of the school, but I didn't see any teachers so far. Dylan was sitting down at the edge of the crowd, still looking a little out of sorts, but we went and sat with him anyway.

"Where are the gym teachers?" I asked, looking around.

"They don't show up until they absolutely have to. Probably they're not out of bed ye,." Nudge told me.

"Wow," I replied. "They sound like great teachers."

Just then, a voice shouted, "Max!"

I whirled around so fast I got a crick in my neck. While I was wincing, Ella came running up to me, flanked by a girl and a boy I'd never seen before. She was wearing a gym uniform - hers actually fit properly - and smiling widely.

I reached up and hugged her. "Hey! How's your first day going?"

"Awesome!" she bubbled. "Everyone's been really nice, and I made a couple of friends! This is Angel, and this is Zephyr."

I looked at the boy and the girl standing on either side of my sister. Both of them had shiny blonde hair, gorgeous blue eyes, and looked so much alike I inspected them carefully to make sure they weren't clones.

"Well, my _name_ is Zephyr," the boy said matter-of-factly. "But you can just call me Gazzy."

I stared at my sister. "Gazzy? What's that short for?"

"The Gasman. Because he's really -"

I held up a hand to stop her. "No, don't tell me, I'm pretty sure I can guess."

The girl, Angel, leaned in towards me conspiratorially. "A word of advice: stay upwind."

Um, ew. "Will do," I assured her. "Are you guys brother and sister?"

"Fraternal twins," they answered at the same time.

"But we -" Angel started.

"Share the same -" Gazzy continued.

"Brain," Angel finished for him.

That was really creepy. My head hurt from trying to follow their conversation. And boy, did I hope they weren't being literally. "No doubt about that."

"We just came over to say hi," Ella said. "I just wanted to tell you that this school is pretty awesome so far. But we'd better get back to our gym class."

"Okay, have fun!"

She leaned in to hug me again, and whispered in my ear, "By the way? Your friend is really, really cute."

Since I was _pretty _sure she wasn't talking about Nudge, the only other logical choice was Dylan. I smiled thinly. "You can have him, believe me."

"I might just take you up on that." She eyed Dylan up and down, causing me to whack her shoulder. It's incredibly odd for me to see my little sister staring at guys that are _way_ too old for her. "Run along, now."

She stuck her tongue out at me, then turned back to Angel and the Gasman. They walked away, chattering, and a very buff-looking man with a huge, artificial looking smile took her place in front of me. He was followed by a rather fat lady with limp red hair, who looked as though she would rather be anywhere than teaching a gym class.

"Okay, team!" the dude roared. "Huddle up!"

Everybody shuffled in around him, and he started in on what must have been a prepared speech about how physical education was one of the most important things we could learn in our high school career, and how we'd better try our best or he'd make us run laps. Needless to say, I tuned out after barely thirty seconds.

I probably would have fallen into another doze if someone hadn't spoken in my ear. "Was that your sister?"

I jumped and whirled around. Iggy the albino kid was standing right behind me, his sightless eyes staring at a spot over my left shoulder.

"Oh," I replied intelligently. "Yeah, that was Ella."

He cocked his head to one side, as if trying to remember something. "She has a nice voice."

Honestly, I had no idea what to say to that. Luckily I was spared having to answer by a loud whistle blast, courtesy of the muscled jerk at the front of the group.

"So, to kick off your first class, we'll be doing some track and field to get an idea of your athleticism. This half of the group -" He gestured to the kids on the other side of the circle, "will be sprinting. The other half -" He gestured to us, "are running some laps. Ms Kinn will take the sprinters, and I'll take everyone else. To the starting lines!"

Nudge groaned. "I hate distance running. At least when you're sprinting you can get all the running over with quickly."

I shrugged one shoulder. Truthfully, I liked running. Not as much as baseball - of course nothing can compare to the feeling of hitting something with a wooden bat - but it was moderately peaceful. And not a team sport, which was good. Somehow, I never do well on teams.

Muscleman - as he shall henceforth be known - jogged towards the starting line, then turned to look at us. "Hm. Okay, we'll start small. The first heat for the eight hundred meter!" He looked around dramatically. The rest of us stared blankly at him.

He didn't give up, though. Muscleman kept speaking like he was announcing the winners of the lottery. "Jenny, Iggy, new girl -"

"It's Max," I interrupted, but he ignored me.

" - Brandon and Maya. Take your positions!"

My new opponents and I gathered on the starting line. The two people I hadn't met yet, Jenny and Brandon, weren't in any of my classes. Jenny was a tiny girl with pale blonde hair, and Brandon looked a little like Sam. I reminded myself to Skype him as soon as I got a free moment at home.

Iggy stood on the starting line, bending his arms back and forth in a stretch. I thought it was kind of cruel to put the blind kid in a race where there was no one to guide him, but I remembered Nudge saying that he could sense things without having to see them. Besides, his legs were a mile long. No doubt he could outstrip Jenny or Brandon without even trying.

And I saw the infamous Maya Johnson for the first time too. She settled herself on the lane farthest from mine, and stared forward at the track. I frowned when I looked at her. Sure, her hair was blonde, and sure she looked like she'd spent too much time sneering as a child - you know how your parents say _if you keep making that face, it'll freeze that way?_ Yeah. That must have happened to her.

But that didn't entirely erase the thought that Maya looked kinda familiar. I didn't know what it was. I also didn't know _how_ I could possibly think she looked familiar, because I was positive I'd never seen anyone who looked like her in California. And definitely not in Winnipeg. But I couldn't shake the feeling.

As Muscleman came to stand beside the grass track, the five of us assumed the regular we're-about-to-race position. "On your marks!" he yelled out. "Get set!" He raised his hand in the air and pointed his first two fingers in the shape of a cap gun. "_GO!"_

His voice was nearly as loud as an actual gun would be, so we all got our rears in gear and sprinted to the edge of the field. An eight-hundred meter race was two full laps around the track, so this would be a pretty quick run for me.

The first lap, the five of us stayed pretty close together, but by the time we started the second, Jenny and Brandon started to fall behind. Very soon after, Iggy dropped back too, and then it was just me and Maya.

She was a fast runner, I'll give her that. And she was obviously running her butt off, if her sweaty face and rapid breathing were any indication. But I had a lot of pent-up energy and aggression on my side, and I was _not_ planning on losing this race.

The two of us were neck-and-neck when we hit the final curve. With a hundred meters to go - and the entire class yelling at us from the starting line - Maya crossed the three lanes separating us to run beside me. I was suspicious, but since I was on the outside lane, there was nowhere to run but forward.

The finish line was ten metres away now. My eyes were fixed on the horizon, not on Maya, and so it came as a bit of a shock when I felt a sharp pain between my ribs. I glanced over, and saw that she was sticking out her elbow, trying to shove me behind her.

Sonuvabitch. I just can't catch a break, can I?

But, like I said, I wasn't losing. So, instead of falling behind, I just ran faster. Barely five meters to go now…

And someone's thigh slammed into my stomach, making me stumble and almost fall. Gee, I wonder who did that?

Maya was pulling ahead now, a big grin spreading over her face while everyone cheered for her. Crap! I was going to lose!

In a last ditch effort to beat the little insect, I made a wild leap for the finish line - and felt my feet leave the ground. It was only for a split two seconds, but in those split two seconds, I was airborne - and moving faster than I'd ever moved in my life. I soared right past Maya, landed lightly on the ground again, and ran the last two steps across the finish line.

The cheering started up again, but the class was cheering for me this time, not Maya - and I'm not going to waste breath pretending that I wasn't happy about that. Nudge came running up to me first, her eyes wide as dinner plates. "How did you _do_ that? You jumped, like, a mile! It was like you were _flying! And you beat Maya!"_

A huge grin bloomed over my face. "Yeah, I guess I did."

Dylan came over. He was smiling too, and his earlier bad temper seemed to have been forgotten. "Wow, that was fun to watch," he said fervently. His arm twitched like he wanted to put it on my shoulder, but then fell back to his side. "And Maya looks really pissed off."

"Serves her right. She tried to trip me."

We all looked over to the edge of the track, where Maya had sulked off to after losing (ha ha). Her groupies had pasted on sympathetic expressions and were clustering around her, patting her back and simpering. Fang stood beside her, one hand on her shoulder, but I noticed he wasn't looking at her at all. Instead, his scary black eyes were trained on me.

I raised an eyebrow at him. He looked away.

"So how did you do that, Max?" Nudge asked eagerly. "One minute you were behind, and the next, you won! What happened?"

I opened my mouth to respond, then realized that I had no answer. "I have no idea. I just…jumped," I finished lamely.

"It was really cool to watch," Nudge assured earnestly. "Probably just the adrenaline."

"Yeah, probably," I agreed. But that wasn't what I was really thinking. In fact, what I was _really_ thinking was something along the lines of _Holy freaking crap, how the hell did I just do that?_ Because when I jumped, I got this seriously weird feeling. Like a strong wind had been blowing across my face, even though there hadn't been a breeze all day. And a weird swooping sensation in my stomach. _And_ a prickly feeling at the center of my back.

But I lost my train of thought when Maya broke away from her underlings and came up to me. "You got lucky today, new girl. I'll make sure it doesn't happen again."

I snorted. "Yeah, right. Get used to losing, buddy. Because now that I'm here, it's going to happen a whole lot more."

Her jaw dropped slightly in surprise.

I shook my head at her. "You'll start attracting flies if you don't close your mouth."

She completely ignored my great advice and opened her trap wider, probably to make some scathing retort, when Muscleman yelled out, "Okay, team, come on in!"

Maya was forced to turn around and face the gym teacher, but not before giving me an absolutely murderous glare. She epitomized _if looks could kill._

I'd made an enemy. That was quick.

The rest of the day passed peacefully enough, unless you counted Iggy starting a first-day-back-at-school food fight in the cafeteria, which I totally did. The teachers, unfortunately, put a stop to it pretty quick, but not before I got Nudge and Dylan with a few well-placed garlic bread crusts. That afternoon's classes seemed super boring by comparison.

Eventually, the final bell rang and it was time to go home. After saying goodbye to Nudge and Dylan - not to mention avoiding Fang and Maya in the hallways - I grabbed my backpack and headed out into the front parking lot to meet Ella. She was talking to her new friends, Angel and Zephyr the Gasman, when I came over.

"Hi, Max!" she said. I almost flinched away from her, that smile was so bright. Then she addressed her friends. "I'd better head home. I'll see you two tomorrow!"

"See you," said Gazzy and Angel in unison, and then turned to the bus line. Immediately after they left, Ella whirled on me. "So how was it? Were the classes hard? Meet any cute guys? What about that blonde kid?"

I held up my hand to slow her down. It struck me just how alike Ella and Nudge really were. "Chill, Ells. It's been a long day." I made her take a deep breath.

"Okay, I'm calm now." She smiled serenely to prove her point. "How was your day?"

"Eventful," I answered. "The classes were okay, not too hard."

"Max, you know that's not really what I care about," she said matter-of-factly. "Dish on the dudes!"

I shrugged. "Not too much to tell. All the good-looking ones were either short, taken or jerks."

"What about the blonde one?" she pressed. "He looked nice."

"You mean Dylan?" I stopped to consider my answer. Dylan was hot, and a super nice guy. And yet…

"Dylan's not for me." I told her. "And he's certainly not for you, either. He's way too old."

Ella shrugged, smiling slyly. "Only two years. I can work with that."

I said nothing, but I was pretty sure that any continuous relationship between Ella and Dylan would be considered illegal in the eyes of the federal court.

"God, Max, you should see your face." Ella nudged my shoulder with her arm. "I'm just joking. Did you make any other friends?"

She didn't say it like she doubted it. Good to know that someone believes in me.

"Nudge Adereja - you saw her."

"That's right, I remember. What about the girl you were racing? Maya something or other?"

I snorted. "She's just about as nice as Lissa was. She tried to trip me when I rounded the final corner. But I still won," I told her with relish.

"Wow, that's a jerky thing to do," Ella remarked, frowning. "What did you ever do to her?"

I shrugged. "Probably just upset that I kicked her ass."

Ella nodded. "Just ignore her. I know you're good at that."

Ignoring the jibe, I agreed. Some people - hands up if you're thinking Fang or Maya - are just not worth the trouble.


	5. Bonding Over Science

**Sorry for the wait, everybody! School started up again and the last couple weeks have been absolutely insane. On the upside, I get see my friends again. On the downside, I actually have to **_**learn**_** stuff. **

** After a couple days of tension with a friend, I found a new life motto: boys are confusing, but bacon will never let you down. Virtual high fives to everyone who thought of Diary of a Lovesick Mutant when they read that! I am planning to write a Phoenix Fanatic tribute chapter in the near future, and yes, there will be massive amounts of bacon involved. **

** By the way, since this chapter took me so long to write, I expect lots of reviews. *looks around meaningfully*. **

The sky all around me was a perfect, cloudless blue, and I was up so high that it was hard to tell which way was up and which was down. As I rose through the air at an incredible speed, an overwhelming sense of peace came over me. There was nothing here to worry about, nothing to stress over - just me and the sky.

And then a backbreaking pain shot down my spine and spread to every other one of my bones, right down to my fingernails (are fingernails bone? I hate science). My soaring-through-the-sky was abruptly interrupted, and after a nauseating second of dead silence and no movement, I began to fall through the clear sky.

I spun head over heels towards the ground, my arms and legs flying uncontrollably in all directions. The earth was rushing up to meet me, I was going to be flattened into a Maxcake -

And just as I hit the ground, my eyes flew open and I sat bolt upright in my warm bed, the moonlight shining through the window-walls into my room. I wasn't plummeting towards the earth from a mile in the air - I was safe. It had all been a dream. Honest to God.

Every single night. I'd fall asleep and the nightmare - nightmare? I wasn't sure - would appear behind my eyes. And, as always, there was no one to catch me when I fell, no one who had my back. I was completely alone.

I caught sight of my reflection in the window and shrank back slightly. My hair looked like a small rodent had been nesting in it, but that wasn't the freaky part.

The scary part was my eyes. They were normally a light brown colour, but now, after almost two weeks of creepy dreams and a back-breaking pain in my spine, they were much closer to black - a haunted-looking black. I was very uncomfortable with looking in the mirror now.

Not that I'd ever made much of a habit of it before now.

But still.

I looked over at the clock on my headboard; it said seven-fifteen. I had ten minutes before I had to be out of bed, but I knew I wouldn't be able to get back to sleep. So I hauled myself out of bed and dragged my feet into the bathroom.

I felt better after a quick shower, but not by a whole lot. And my mood didn't improve as the hour I had to get ready flew by, either. Jeb stared at me with concern from across the breakfast table as I devoured my toast. "Is your back all right?" he asked. He must have noticed I was limping slightly.

"I'll live," I told him. "Hopefully."

Ella and I didn't talk too much on the way to school. She stared straight ahead down the road, biting her lip and frowning slightly. I knew she'd been really caught up with homework for the past little while, so I hadn't told her what Iggy had said about her having a nice voice. But I did notice that when Ella was around, Iggy's expression always sharpened - like he was trying extra hard to hear what she was saying.

I'd been pretty busy for the last little while too. All I can say is whoever invented the idea of Science is the worst human being to walk the face of the planet and I can only hope they suffer a life of eternal torment. Oh, and the person who thought up the idea of Math class, too. They can both wallow in misery.

Incidentally, the first class I had that morning was Science. Muttering curse words in a number of different languages - I know some pretty good ones in German and Chinese - I trudged down to the Science wing, barely even noticing when Dylan and Nudge came up beside me.

"Someone had a rough night," Dylan remarked. He looked perfect as usual, and it bothered me. How dare he look that good when I looked this bad.

"Yeah, you okay, Max? If you're stressed or anything, I know some really good stress-relief yoga poses that work super well. Oh, wait, I know! You should come with me to hot yoga! It's awesome, Max, it really is."

"Thanks," I said before she could continue. "But I'm not great with yoga. No flexibility."

"I think you're pretty flexible, Max," Dylan said loudly. I frowned up at him, then saw he wasn't looking at me - he was looking at someone who'd just passed by us: Fang. The black-haired boy stared stonily at him for a moment, then kept walking.

Fang may have taken it coolly, but I was operating on four hours of sleep and Dylan was seriously pissing me off. I shoved him away from where he was hovering by my arm. "Dude, what's your problem? I've been around apes who had more class than you."

The sad thing was, I had. Total. The San Diego Zoo. One wrong turn. I'd tried my hardest to repress that memory.

Dylan scowled. "Jesus, looks like it's _someone's_ time of the month."

I crossed my arms. "If it was, you'd already have a broken nose, buddy."

He actually laughed. "Like you could hurt a fly."

Okay, now he was really asking for it. Nudge grabbed my arm as I brought it back. "Wanna bet?"

"Whoa!" Nudge cried, stepping between us. "Everyone just calm down! What's gotten into you two?"

Dylan and I glared at each other for a moment; he looked away first. His face was slightly pink from rage; it was the only imperfection I'd ever seen on him. "Forget it," he said flatly. "I'll talk to you later."

He shouldered his bag and walked away down the hall, arms clenched tightly by his sides. Then he was gone.

Nudge stared incredulously at me. "What was all that about? I've never seen _either_ of you look so heated."

I shrugged, still glaring in Dylan's general direction. "He's just being a jerk. Plain and simple."

"Can't you guys just give each other a break?" Nudge pleaded. "I know that you haven't been sleeping well, and I _know_ his back is hurting, so it's natural you'd both be grumpy -"

"Dylan's back has been bothering him?"

Nudge nodded. "He clutches his spine and moans, like, every two seconds."

Well, my back was bothering me too. So Dylan should understand my pain and leave me the heck alone.

When we got to Mr. Carter's Science lab, I saw that Dylan had taken a seat in the back row next to Iggy. His eyes flicked up to me when I walked in, then quickly snapped away. His cheeks were slightly pink again.

I took my regular seat next to Nudge just as Mr. Carter came in. "Please take your s_ph_eats!" he said, showering a few kids who'd been dumb enough to sit in the front row. I made myself comfortable, knowing I'd be asleep within about five minutes.

"All right, quiet down!" he yelled. The kids in the front grimaced and wiped their faces. "Today we're going to do something fun."

Nudge and I exchanged looks. This was Science class. Fun was a theoretical impossibility here.

"We'll all be going outside into the grounds to look for examples of plants that reproduce using roots," he barked out. Did you guys out there know that there were ways for plants to reproduce _besides_ roots? Because I sure didn't. "Each pair will be assigned to a different part of the ground, and each will have to bring back at _least_ two plants to sketch and label."

Each _pair._ Everyone in the class moved automatically towards their best friends.

But apparently the old bat had been expecting this to happen. "I don't think so. _I've_ chosen the pairs this time, since chaos ensued the last time I let you choose your own partners."

I hadn't been here the last time everyone had chosen their own partners, but by the way the class grinned, I could only assume it had been pretty awesome.

"Pair number one!" Mr. Carter barked out. "Dylan Cortez and Iggy Halreizer."

I had to stifle a laugh when I heard that Iggy's last name was Halreizer, mostly because it sounded so much like _hellraiser. _It suited him perfectly.

Mr. Carter held up the class list. "Tory McTavish and Connor Song, Nudge Adereja and Zach Stadnyk, Maya Johnson and Debra Tsar."

Nudge looked around the room and nodded in approval - her partner was a cute redheaded boy who smiled shyly at her. Debra Tsar had the opposite reaction. She flinched and made a little whimpering sound when Maya glared at her.

Meanwhile, our teacher kept rattling off names. I felt a growing sense of dread as I realized there were two names he hadn't called yet. _Please, Mr. Carter,_ I thought fervently. _If you're a halfway decent human being, don't put me with him. I'll love you forever - well, maybe at least I won't hate you. Come on, dude, do me a solid - _

"Max Ride and Fang Alexandros."

Damn it. Well, Mr. Carter, you have forever ruined your chances of gaining my good opinion.

As everyone got up to find their partners, I cast a surreptitious glance over at Fang and Maya. She looked a little upset a being separated from her boyfriend, and his face was a blank mask as always. Biting her lip, Maya kissed Fang's cheek, then went to go terrorize her poor partner.

Fang looked over at me after his girlfriend was gone. I ignored him. He was going to have to come to me, because I certainly wasn't going to him.

"Oh my God, that guy is so cute," Nudge said to me. She was looking at her partner, the redheaded boy. Even though red hair brings back repulsive memories of Lissa, I had to admit that Nudge was right - this dude _was_ cute. And he could barely take his eyes off her.

Before Nudge went to go join the red-haired wonder, she cast me a sympathetic glance. "Good luck with Fang."

"Thanks," I grimaced. "I'll need it."

She left, leaving me alone. I took out a pen and startled doodling randomly on the cover of my textbook. The designs I drew were likely to be the most interesting thing I'd see in this textbook all year.

"Are you coming or what?"

I jumped about a foot in the air when the quiet voice spoke. Fang was standing in front of me, having appeared out of nowhere.

"What the hell?" I said furiously. "Don't sneak up on me like that!"

"I didn't sneak up," he calmly replied. "You just didn't look up."

Jerk.

"Let's get this over with, then," I sighed. If I was going to be cast into misery - and make no mistake, this _would _be misery - I'd just have to grit my teeth and bear it. 'Cause no way was I grinning through this.

Mr. Carter held the door open for everybody, and the class filed outside. He handed each pair a piece of paper to record what kind of plants we picked up. Fang and I were, apparently, supposed to head to the banks on the edge of the river. I thought Mr. Carter was taking a huge gamble there, considering that if I lost my temper I might just push Fang into the water.

Once we'd walked into the forest surrounding the campus, the class separated and Fang and I were left alone. Neither of us said a word and it was, to say the least, very awkward. I decided to try and break the ice - not because I particularly wanted to talk to him, but because the silence was killing me.

"So, how long have you and Maia been dating?"

Oh, God, _why_ did I just say that? That was totally not the way I'd imagined starting the conversation. The words just slipped out.

Fang gave me an odd look, and at first I thought he wasn't going to answer, but eventually he spoke. "About two months."

"You like her, then?"

Crap, there I went again. Why do I ever even open my mouth?

Dead silence followed by another awkward two words. "Um. Yeah."

Silence again. I closed my eyes and envisioned sticking my head into a tree.

"You're from California?"

"Yep. Very warm down there," I said wistfully.

"You're pretty pale for a Californian."

I snorted. "And I thought Canadians were supposed to be so polite. Obviously that is a serious misconception."

Fang frowned. "Don't get touchy. It was a fair observation."

"No, it wasn't."

Both of us stopped talking then. No way was I making another attempt to start a conversation after the disaster our last one had been.

It was hard, though, not to pay at least _some_ attention to Fang. He had a very large presence; it was hard not to notice him. Particularly today, when the sun was so bright, all of his dark clothes and personality stood out. Like a living, breathing, very irritating shadow.

He bent down and reached out one tanned arm to pull a tiny creeper out of the ground and stuck it in his pocket, to sketch later. A few metres later, I picked up a small flowered plant and handed it to him.

Fang put a hand on his heart. "For me? I'm touched."

"Don't flatter yourself." I deadpanned, but I was impressed. The fine language of sarcasm is something most people have to practice for years to master, but Fang was clearly already fluent.

My watch beeped. I raised my hand to eye level to see the time; there was five minutes before class ended. "We'd better get back."

Fang only nodded, his freaky black eyes fixed on mine. I guess that was his way of nonverbal communication.

As we were climbing the small hill that led back into the school parking lot, Fang stopped. I turned back to look, and saw that he was white-faced, biting his lip, and had one hand on his back.

Though it went against all my intentions, I asked, "You okay?"

He grunted. "Back just hurts. Let's head back."

Though he was obviously still in pain, he stood up straight and followed me up onto the concrete. I watched him, considering.

My back is hurting. Dylan's back is bothering him. And now Fang's having back trouble.

Coincidence?

Maybe.


	6. Scientist's Secret

**How many of you out there have ever debated before? If you have, then maybe you'll understand how annoying it is when I have to leave Fanfiction to try and write one. Oh, screw it, it can get done when I'm finished this chapter. **

I blinked my eyes slowly open, trying to see past the haze of sleep that covered my vision. The Canadian October chill was beginning to take its toll; the first frost had come overnight a few days ago. Now I sleep with an extra blanket on my bed. Because I'm just so freaking delicate.

I twisted carefully under my mounds of blankets to look at my alarm clock. Seven-thirty. That meant there was fifteen minutes before I even had to _think_ about getting out of bed…

Then I froze.

I flipped over to look up at the ceiling, waiting for the agonizing pain in my back that usually hit me when I woke up in the morning. Nothing came.

I searched my memories for any trace of the regular dream. Again, there was nothing. Unless I was wrong - but let's face it, I'm never wrong - I hadn't had the dream last night.

And my back wasn't hurting!

I sat up gingerly, but there was still no pain.

Finally!

I rocketed out of bed and tripped to my bathroom. My hand swiped over the wall until my fingers found the light switch, then the light snapped on.

My hair, of course, looked like something a bird would lay her eggs in, but that was nothing new. My eyes were what had changed…again.

But this time, I was glad for the difference. Instead of the injured, shadowed black I'd been seeing in the mirror for the past few days, my eyes were a warm brown again. I guess that meant the dreams had finally stopped.

I felt like singing. Except I really don't sing. One time, I sang a Lady Gaga song at our school's yearly carnival, and, unbeknownst to me, Lissa taped it. Then - don't ask me how she did this, because I have no idea - she connected it to the Staples Centre Jumbotron at the LA Kings home opener.

And yeah, it was as bad as it sounds.

Okay, end embarrassing flashback.

I skipped - yes, skipped. That's how happy I was - down the stairs, feeling more elated than I had in a long time. Walking into the kitchen, I greeted Ella and Fang, who were sitting at the kitchen table, with a big smile. Mom was nowhere to be seen, so I opened the fridge in hopes of finding something chocolatey I could have for breakfast -

Then I stopped, my hand inches from the fridge door.

Ella and _Fang?_

Something was seriously wrong here.

I turned around slowly, my smile dissipating. Fang was indeed sitting at the kitchen table next to Ella, looking as calm as though he showed up randomly in my house every morning. There was silence for a few moments.

"Um," I started. "What?"

Okay, that last sentence did _not_ come out quite as intelligently as I had intended.

Fang finally answered - mocking me in his head, I was sure. "My dad wanted to talk to your dad. He made us come with him."

I wondered why. The experience couldn't have been any more pleasant for him than it was for me.

"Probably because he's our only ride to school," said another voice. I stared as a strawberry-blond head popped up from behind our living room couch. It was Iggy.

"Did someone send out a memo?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "Are Maya and Dylan about to come out from behind the bookshelf?"

"Well, if they do, we didn't invite them," Iggy assured me. "By the way, your dog is totally awesome."

Total, who was sitting on the ground next to him, wagged his tail and grinned. I could see he was itching to say something.

"He's okay, when he's quiet," I said, shooting him a significant glance.

Ella, obviously sensing the danger too, went and sat next to Iggy on the carpeted floor. When she reached out to pull Total onto her lap, Iggy's head swiveled towards her and he sat very still, as though trying to hear a quiet sound. My little sister cocked her head - it made her look like Total - and looked back at him.

"Your name is Iggy, right?" she asked, smiling.

"Well, my real name is James, but no one bothers calling me that anymore," he said, returning her smile.

I frowned. "How did _Iggy_ come from _James?_"

"I dunno. Ask Fang," Iggy said, shrugging. "He came up with it. When they brought me home, Fang was still too young to pronounce my name properly. So he started saying Iggy."

I looked over at Fang, considering. "Your name is equally as weird as his. Is that a childhood nickname or what? What's your real name?"

"Fitzwilliam," he deadpanned, his face expressionless.

I turned my head to look at Iggy. "I can't tell when he's joking."

"I don't blame you. Nah, his parents named him Nick, but he used to bite people who tried to pick him up. So our mom started calling him Fang. But that name isn't nearly as attractive as the name Iggy."

"Of course not," Ella agreed, and Iggy grinned.

The two of them started chattering away, leaving me and Fang to stew - again - in awkward silence. Looking desperately for something to do, I took the pancakes out of the fridge, heated them in the microwave, and wolfed them down.

After I was done, I shoved my dishes in the sink. "Ells, where's Mom?"

"She went in early today," she answered, turning away from Iggy for a moment. "Something about a corgi in labour."

Lovely. "Well, I'm going to go get dressed. See you in a bit."

"Don't forget we can wear normal clothes today," she called up after me.

Oh, yeah. I had forgotten, actually. According to Nudge, once a month the teachers at CFI decide we've had enough fashion torture and let us wear our regular clothes. Apparently some people - girls, mostly - go all out for this. But you won't catch me in anything more elaborate than jeans and a T-shirt.

But when I went upstairs, I realized that there might be a little problem with this plan. See, we weren't fully unpacked from the move yet, and that meant a lot of boxes were still strewn randomly around the house. Unfortunately, this included the box that held my jeans.

I considered yelling for my mom, then remembered she'd gone in early. So I settled for yelling at my little sister.

"Ella!" I shouted down into the living room. "Where the phooey are my jeans?"

A few moments later, she appeared at the bottom of the stairs. "That's certainly an expression I haven't heard before."

Yeah, I'd wanted to use stronger language, but there were guests in the house. And I'm _nothing_ if not polite. "Where are my jeans?"

"I dunno," she shrugged. "Check Jeb's study. Mom said there were a few boxes left there."

Grumbling, I trumped back down the stairs and into the kitchen. Fang had moved to sit on the floor with Iggy, and Total was clambering all over him. He tried to look disgusted as my small black dog licked his face, but there was a smile pulling at the corners of his mouth.

Looking at the two of them, I felt a smile start to form on my face too. Then, realizing how insane that notion was, I stilled it and started down the hallway.

There were four rooms down this hall - a bathroom, a den, my mom's office, and my dad's study. Jeb's room was at the very end of the hall, facing me, but the door was closed.

When I got to the end of the hallway, I raised my hand to knock on the door when voices drifted through. I hesitated, and was about to walk away and look for my jeans somewhere else when a very curious word to be heard - wow, look, I'm a poet and I didn't know it - was spoken…my name.

Immediately I dropped into a crouch and pressed my ear to the door.

Well, you didn't expect me to just _walk away, _did you?

"…situation is improving, then?"

I didn't know that voice. It must have been Fang and Iggy's dad.

"Which situation are you referring to?" That was definitely Jeb.

"All and every one of her symptoms."

Well, they'd said _her_, so I could safely assume they were still talking about me. But what the hell were they saying about _symptoms_?

"The pain has been getting to her," Jeb admitted. "But according to the programming pattern, she should be getting better within the next week. And then…the development starts."

"It's almost time," said the other man.

"Indeed it is," Jeb replied. I could almost hear him nodding.

"My boys have also been showing marked improvement," the other man went on, and now there was a distinctly arrogant note in his voice. "James, of course, will progress at a much slower rate, but once he begins to move forward, the improvement will be astronomical."

"What about the others?" Jeb asked. "The Espoire's children should be just about ready as well. Have you heard from them?"

"Not yet. And I also haven't heard from either of the -"

Here the other dude dropped his voice. I strained to hear him, but came up with nothing.

"And the last family?" Jeb pressed.

"Laura's child is also showing significant development. It won't be long now, not long at all."

There was a small silence.

"It'll have to be her, Jeb," the other man said softly. "You know it will be."

"I know," Jeb answered in a weary voice.

There was another silence.

"Well -" I heard the sound of Jeb's desk chair being pushed back. "We should probably go. The kids have school."

"Yes. Thank you for meeting with me -" Another chair was moved - probably the other dude getting up.

At this point, the gears in my brain clunked back into place and I scrambled to my feet, hightailing it out of the hallway. Jeb's study door opened just as I flung myself down onto the living room couch.

Ella, Iggy, Fang and Total all stared at me.

"I've been here this whole time," I hissed urgently. "Or else."

Ella and Total exchanged a glance - betcha that's something you never thought you'd hear - and Iggy grinned knowingly.

Fang stared questioningly at me. I shook my head vigorously just as Jeb and the other dude came into view.

Fang and Iggy's dad was short, with permanently pursed lips and thinning hair, just like Jeb's. He looked unnaturally well-dressed for someone going to a personal meeting, in a crisp seersucker suit and really shiny shoes. His glasses gleamed in the bright morning sunlight.

"Max, Ella, I'd like you to meet Dr. Hans Gunther-Hagen, Iggy and Fang's adoptive father," Jeb introduced us. He smiled like they hadn't been discussing anything more important than this morning's weather back there. But looks, as I'm sure you'll find, can be deceiving. "Hans, meet my daughters, Max and Ella."

Dr. GH nodded imperiously at us. I dipped my head briefly in return, mimicking his hoity-toity attitude - which he didn't look too pleased with. Ella was a lot more polite than I was, as usual, giving him a friendly smile.

"Thank you for your time, Jeb," GH thanked my dad. "I'll get back to you in a few weeks…?"

"Yes. I'll call you." Jeb's nod was clearly a dismissal.

"All right. Come along, Nick, James."

Fang and Iggy rose from the floor. Iggy smiled at Ella, who smiled back. Then, obviously remembering he couldn't see, she tapped the back of his hand.

"When I do that, remember I'm smiling, okay?"

"Okay," Iggy replied. His grin looked almost too big for his face.

Total, on his part, looked sort of lonely. Fang noticed this too, and so leaned down to scratch his ears. Total's tiny black tail went _thump-thump-thump_ on the carpet, and Fang smiled again. Good God, the apocalypse is upon us.

"See you later, Max. Bye, Ella," Iggy called, walking out the door after his father.

Fang looked at us two for a moment.

"See you."

And then he was gone.

Ella and I exchanged a glance.

"That was weird," I said. She had no idea I wasn't just talking about the two boys appearing suddenly in our house.

"That's a good summary of the situation," she answered, nodding.

"What are you two still standing around for?"

I jumped when Jeb spoke; I'd completely forgotten he was still there. "What?"

"You have school in twenty minutes! Your mom's not here, so I'm responsible for getting you out the door."

Crap, we were going to be late. I started to run up the stairs when I remembered something.

"Hey, Jeb, where are my jeans?"

"Your mom said something about some boxes in the workout room."

"Thanks!" I ran to the workout room, threw on a pair of jeans, pulled a brush through my hair and was out the door ten minutes later.

That day was long, and normal - even by my strange standards - which made that morning's "visit" from Fang and Iggy seem even weirder. And it would have taken a whole lot to make me forget what Jeb and Dr. GH had said.

Ella, who hadn't heard any of the things I had, forgot about the incident pretty quickly. When I walked home with her from school, she talked easily to me about the people in her grade. But surprisingly, the person she talked most to me about was Iggy Halreizer.

"He showed up during Math today and said that there was an urgent message for me down at the office. When Mr. Solinsky let me leave, Iggy said that I needed to see the parts of the school where the students spend most of their time."

"Iggy came to get you out of class?" I asked incredulously. More than the fact that I was worried about her education - because I really couldn't have cared less if she cut class once in a while - I was really surprised that Iggy had gone to get her. Then again, I hadn't seen him in any of _my _classes all afternoon.

"Yeah. He said that his teachers let him leave class whenever he wants, because they're all too afraid he'll set off an explosion like the one that sent the last English teacher to the hospital." She smiled at the memory. "He's really funny."

"Lucky freaking you. Wish someone had come to take _me_ out of Math," I grumbled, just as our house came into view.

"It was pretty awesome." She grinned, which did not make me feel any better at all.

Then, as we were walking up the drive, she spoke again. "Oh, by the way. The Espoire twins are coming over tonight."

That immediately captured my attention. I jerked my head up and stared at her. "The Espoires?"

Ella gave me a weird look. "You know, Angel and Gazzy. You met them. We're working on a Science project together."

I said nothing. _Espoire_ was another name I'd heard this morning. Why would Jeb and Dr. GH need to know about Ella's two new best friends?

Maybe they were all secretly related and their parents were planning a secret reunion. Secretly.

Fang and Iggy were both adopted. For all I knew, Angel and the Gasman were too.

Well, it made more sense than any of the other theories I'd been dreaming up.

The Espoire twins arrived at about seven, just after we'd finished dinner. They walked in the door and greeted my parents in the same pose: feet together, hands behind their backs.

I stared at them from where I was sitting with Total on the couch. With their silky blond hair and gorgeous blue eyes, they looked almost too perfect to be real.

Then the Gasman caught my eye and winked. Somehow I got the feeling that neither of them were nearly as angelic as they appeared.

"Hi, Mr. Batchelder and Ms Martinez," Angel said, her voice soft and melodic. "I'm Angel -"

" - and I'm Zephyr." Gazzy finished. I guess he didn't want my mom and dad to know the name he used more often. I couldn't blame him, considering what it was he was so famous for.

My mom smiled at them She was living proof that no adult could withstand the full force of the twin's charms. "Lovely to meet you, Angel, Zephyr."

Jeb took off his glasses and stuck them in his pocket. "Yes, yes…lovely…"

His voice trailed off as he looked at the two of them. He rubbed his eyes. They had that distracted scientisty look about them. I wondered why he'd taken his glasses off if he was having trouble seeing.

"I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to speak with your parents yet," Mom said apologetically. "I don't even know their names. But I suppose I'll meet them when they come to pick you up later."

"Actually, our parents are away at the moment," Gazzy said, echoing his sister's soft tones. "Our aunt is looking after us. We're walking home; we don't live too far away."

"You'll probably meet them at parent-teacher interviews, if you go," Angel continued. "They get back the day of. Prague, I think they said they were going."

Mom nodded, smiling, but Jeb raised his eyebrows. I remembered the conversation he'd had with Dr. GH. Maybe this was the reason they'd never heard from the Espoires.

The question bothered me right up until midnight, long after Angel, Gazzy and Ella had finished their project and the twins had gone home. As I lay in bed, earphones in, staring up at the ceiling, thoughts buzzed around in my head.

How was it possible for Jeb to be in contact with the Espoires? He was a born-and-raised Californian, and had never mentioned any Canadians until the day he'd said we were moving. And how in the hell did he seem to know Fang and Iggy's dad so well?

There was only one thing I knew for sure. Jeb and Dr. Gunther-Hagen had been talking about me. And Fang and Iggy, and also possibly a whole bunch of other kids. Something big was going on, something I realized that I needed to know about.

Sitting up to stare out the window, I made my decision.

It was time to see just what it was Jeb was hiding in his office.


End file.
